TalentQuote Product Governance v1.0

Status: Approved
Version: 1.0
Category: Governance Document
Purpose: Official Product Governance Source of Truth
Audience: Hugo, Product, Engineering, QA, Delivery, Codex, ChatGPT, Future AI Systems
Folder: TalentQuote/Product-v1/

Governing inputs:

HCMX_Shared/AI Documentation Workflow Standard v1.1.0.md
HCMX_Shared/TQ_CONTEXT_PACK_v1.1.md
TalentQuote/TQ_DOCUMENT_INDEX_v1.0.md
TalentQuote/Strategic-Foundation-v1/TalentQuote Strategic Pyramid v1.2.6.md
TalentQuote/Strategic-Foundation-v1/TalentQuote Master Summary v3.3.1.md
TalentQuote/Strategic-Foundation-v1/TalentQuote Canon v1.1.1.md
TalentQuote/Strategic-Foundation-v1/TalentQuote Revenue Engine Playbook v1.0.md
TalentQuote/Product-v1/TalentQuote_Product_Governance_Review_v0.1.md
TalentQuote/Product-v1/TalentQuote_Product_MVP_Delivery_Tracker_v0.3.md
TalentQuote/Product-v1/📘 TalentQuote™ — User Stories v3.0.md
TalentQuote/Product-v1/📘 TalentQuote™ — Acceptance Criteria v2.3 (Full MVP Alignment).md
TalentQuote/Product-v1/🎨 TalentQuote — UX-UI Flow & Screen Guide v3.0.md
TalentQuote/Product-Architecture-v1/🏛️ TalentQuote — Architecture Guide v3.0.md

1. Executive Governance Statement

TalentQuote Product Governance defines how product strategy, product scope, product behavior, architecture, execution, Jira, QA, and historical documents relate to each other.

This document converts the conclusions from TalentQuote_Product_Governance_Review_v0.1.md into official governance rules.

It does not create new product strategy.

It does not redefine approved positioning.

It does not redefine product scope.

It governs how approved documents should be interpreted, updated, and used.

Purpose

Provide the official Product Governance Source of Truth for:

Product documentation hierarchy.
Product authority.
Product ownership.
Product change management.
Product execution hierarchy.
Product document lifecycle.
Jira and tracker interpretation.
Historical document treatment.

Authority

This document governs the TalentQuote product documentation system.

If a product document, execution document, Jira ticket, or AI-generated recommendation conflicts with this governance model, this document decides which source has authority.

Scope

This document applies to:

Product strategy interpretation.
Product scope interpretation.
Product definition documents.
Product execution documents.
Product architecture documents.
Jira mirroring.
QA validation.
Future AI-assisted product documentation.

2. Executive Assessment

TalentQuote product governance has reached an approved v1.0 maturity level.

Current strengths:

The strategic foundation is explicit and current.
The current product identity is clear: Instant-Match Talent-as-a-Service and Engineering Capacity Commerce.
Product scope has a current source in User Stories v3.0.
Acceptance has a current source in Acceptance Criteria v2.3.
UX behavior has a current source in the UX-UI Flow & Screen Guide v3.0.
Technical architecture has a current source in the Architecture Guide v3.0.
Delivery reality has a current execution baseline in the Product MVP Delivery Tracker v0.3.
BRD v1.3 has been classified and no longer governs execution.
Jira has a defined role as execution mirror, not product source of truth.

Remaining governance discipline required:

Product decisions must be recorded in the right source layer before execution work is mirrored into Jira.
QA evidence must be attached before any story is treated as accepted.
Historical documents must not override active governance documents.
Future AI systems must read the governance hierarchy before editing product or execution documents.

3. Product Documentation Hierarchy

Higher levels govern lower levels.

Lower levels may operationalize higher-level decisions, but they may not redefine them.

Level	Layer	Documents	Governs	Rule
1	Strategic Governance	Strategic Pyramid v1.2.6; Master Summary v3.3.1; Canon v1.1.1; Revenue Engine Playbook v1.0	Product identity, business direction, positioning, commercial logic	Strategy and approved language govern all product and execution work.
2	Product Governance	Product Governance v1.0	Product authority, hierarchy, ownership, lifecycle, source-of-truth rules	This document decides how all product documents are interpreted.
3	Product Definition	User Stories v3.0; Acceptance Criteria v2.3; UX-UI Flow & Screen Guide v3.0; Architecture Guide v3.0	Product scope, acceptance, experience behavior, technical architecture	These documents define what TalentQuote is and how it should behave.
4	Product Execution	Product MVP Delivery Tracker v0.3/current; Jira	Delivery state, phase decisions, owners, QA evidence, implementation status	The tracker governs execution. Jira mirrors execution.
5	Commercial Assets	Website Copy Guide v1.0; Sales Brochure v2.4; Commercial Funnels v1.0; Outreach Sequence Library v0.3; Content Engine	Market communication, funnel language, outbound and conversion support	Commercial assets communicate approved product behavior; they do not define product behavior.
6	Historical Documents	BRD v1.3; Product Governance Review v0.1; older User Stories; older UX guides; archive copies	Historical reference, lineage, comparison, recovery	Historical documents cannot override active or governing documents.

4. Source Of Truth Matrix

Domain	Source Of Truth	Supporting Sources	Governance Rule
Vision	Strategic Pyramid v1.2.6	Master Summary v3.3.1	Vision originates in strategic governance, not product execution.
Positioning	Canon v1.1.1	Strategic Pyramid; Master Summary; Approved Positioning Framework v1.2	Product docs must preserve approved category and language.
Product Scope	User Stories v3.0	Talent Taxonomy - MVP; Website Experience Specification v1.0	Scope changes originate here before tracker or Jira changes.
Acceptance	Acceptance Criteria v2.3	User Stories v3.0; QA evidence in tracker	Acceptance Criteria define what done must satisfy.
UX	UX-UI Flow & Screen Guide v3.0	Website Experience Specification v1.0	UX docs govern product behavior and interaction model, not positioning.
Architecture	Architecture Guide v3.0	Tech Stack & Migration Plan; n8n Workflow Architecture	Architecture docs govern technical implementation and integrations.
Execution	Product MVP Delivery Tracker v0.3/current	User Stories; Acceptance Criteria; UX Guide; Architecture Guide	Tracker governs delivery status and Jira readiness.
Delivery Tracking	Product MVP Delivery Tracker v0.3/current	Jira	Jira mirrors tracker state and cannot create scope by itself.
Marketing Messaging	Website Copy Guide v1.0	Canon; Revenue Engine; Content Engine; Video Scripts	Marketing messaging must reflect approved product behavior.
Revenue Operations	Revenue Engine Playbook v1.0	Commercial Funnels; KPI and Funnel Metrics; Outreach Library	Revenue operations govern funnel and activation logic, not product scope.

5. Product Authority Matrix

Area	Primary Authority	Operating Owner	Source Documents	Governance Rule
Product Strategy	Hugo / Leadership	Product	Strategic Pyramid; Master Summary	Strategy changes require founder-level approval.
Product Scope	Hugo / Product	Product	User Stories v3.0	Scope must be updated before execution or Jira changes.
Acceptance	Product + QA	QA	Acceptance Criteria v2.3	QA validates against acceptance criteria, not against Jira text alone.
UX	Product + UX	Product / UX	UX-UI Flow & Screen Guide v3.0	UX behavior cannot redefine positioning or scope.
Architecture	Engineering / Technical Lead	Engineering	Architecture Guide v3.0	Architecture may implement scope but cannot redefine business requirements.
Engineering Delivery	Engineering	Delivery / Engineering	Product MVP Delivery Tracker; Jira	Delivery status belongs in the tracker and is mirrored in Jira.
QA Validation	QA	QA	Acceptance Criteria; Tracker evidence	Done is not accepted until evidence exists.
Product Governance	Hugo / Product	Product	Product Governance v1.0	Governance changes require explicit approval and versioning.
Commercial Positioning	Hugo / Marketing / Sales	Marketing / Sales	Canon; Revenue Engine; Website Copy Guide	Commercial assets cannot create new product behavior.

6. Product Change Management

All product changes must respect the hierarchy.

Scope Changes

Scope changes must:

Be stated as a product decision.
Be checked against Strategic Pyramid, Master Summary, Canon, and Revenue Engine.
Be added or revised in User Stories v3.0 or the current product scope source.
Be reflected in Acceptance Criteria if testable behavior changes.
Be reflected in UX or Architecture if experience or technical behavior changes.
Be added to the Product MVP Delivery Tracker only after the source layer is updated.
Be mirrored into Jira only after tracker alignment.

Governance Changes

Governance changes must:

Be made through a versioned Product Governance document.
Preserve the hierarchy unless founder approval explicitly changes it.
Identify affected source documents.
Avoid recommendation language once approved.
Record the resulting decision as a governance decision.

New Document Creation

New product documents may be created only when:

The existing document stack cannot govern the topic clearly.
The new document has a defined category, owner, source dependencies, and lifecycle status.
It does not duplicate or conflict with an active source of truth.
It is added to the Active Document Registry or classified as working/historical.

Deprecation Process

Deprecated or superseded documents must:

Remain in place unless the user explicitly asks to move files.
Be classified as Historical or Deprecated in governance/index documentation.
Retain value for lineage, recovery, and comparison.
Never override active governance documents.

7. Product Lifecycle Model

Lifecycle State	Definition	Governance Meaning
Draft	Work in progress, not approved	May inform discussion but does not govern execution.
Review	Candidate document under evaluation	May surface recommendations but does not govern until approved.
Approved	Accepted as valid for its category	Can be used as an active source for its defined scope.
Governed	Official source of truth for a domain	Must be followed by downstream documents and execution tools.
Historical	Preserved for lineage and reference	Useful context only; does not govern current work.
Deprecated	Superseded by a newer or better source	Should not be used except for comparison or recovery.

8. Active Document Registry

Status options:

Governing
Active
Supporting
Historical
Deprecated

Document	Category	Status	Governance Role
`HCMX_Shared/AI Documentation Workflow Standard v1.1.0.md`	Workflow Governance	Governing	Defines AI-assisted documentation workflow.
`HCMX_Shared/TQ_CONTEXT_PACK_v1.1.md`	Context Pack	Active	Rapid onboarding context; not product source of truth.
`TalentQuote/TQ_DOCUMENT_INDEX_v1.0.md`	Documentation Index	Supporting	Navigation and dependency map.
`TalentQuote/Strategic-Foundation-v1/TalentQuote Strategic Pyramid v1.2.6.md`	Strategic Governance	Governing	Highest-level strategic foundation.
`TalentQuote/Strategic-Foundation-v1/TalentQuote Master Summary v3.3.1.md`	Strategic Governance	Governing	Current business and product context.
`TalentQuote/Strategic-Foundation-v1/TalentQuote Approved Positioning Framework v1.2.md`	Positioning Governance	Governing	Approved positioning system.
`TalentQuote/Strategic-Foundation-v1/TalentQuote Canon v1.1.1.md`	Language Governance	Governing	Official product and commercial language.
`TalentQuote/Strategic-Foundation-v1/TalentQuote Revenue Engine Playbook v1.0.md`	Revenue Governance	Governing	Revenue, funnel, activation, and commercial operating logic.
`TalentQuote/Product-v1/TalentQuote_Product_Governance_v1.0.md`	Product Governance	Governing	Official Product Governance Source of Truth.
`TalentQuote/Product-v1/📘 TalentQuote™ — User Stories v3.0.md`	Product Definition	Governing	Functional product scope.
`TalentQuote/Product-v1/📘 TalentQuote™ — Acceptance Criteria v2.3 (Full MVP Alignment).md`	Product Definition	Governing	Acceptance and testable behavior.
`TalentQuote/Product-v1/🎨 TalentQuote — UX-UI Flow & Screen Guide v3.0.md`	Product Definition	Governing	UX behavior and interaction model.
`TalentQuote/Product-Architecture-v1/🏛️ TalentQuote — Architecture Guide v3.0.md`	Product Architecture	Governing	Technical architecture and subsystem model.
`TalentQuote/Product-Architecture-v1/🧠 TalentQuote — Tech Stack & Migration Plan (2025 → 2027).md`	Product Architecture	Supporting	Stack evolution and migration logic.
`TalentQuote/Product-Architecture-v1/🧠 TalentQuote — n8n Workflow Architecture (MVP Edition).md`	Product Architecture	Supporting	Automation workflow architecture.
`TalentQuote/Product-v1/TalentQuote_Product_MVP_Delivery_Tracker_v0.3.md`	Product Execution	Active	Current candidate execution baseline and Jira-readiness source.
Jira	Product Execution Tool	Active	Execution mirror; not product source of truth.
`TalentQuote/Product-v1/TalentQuote Website Experience Specification v1.0.md`	Product / Website Experience	Supporting	Website and funnel experience guidance.
`TalentQuote/Product-v1/TalentQuote Talent Taxonomy – MVP.md`	Product Taxonomy	Supporting	MVP talent category and supply coverage support.
`TalentQuote/Product-v1/TalentQuote Commercial Funnels v1.0.md`	Commercial / Product Funnel	Supporting	Funnel model for discovery, evaluation, and activation.
`TalentQuote/Product-v1/TalentQuote KPI and Funnel Metrics v1.1.md`	Metrics	Supporting	Product, funnel, marketplace, and revenue metrics.
`TalentQuote/Strategic-Assets-v1/TalentQuote Website Copy Guide v1.0.md`	Commercial Asset	Supporting	Website copy and CTA source.
`TalentQuote/Strategic-Assets-v1/TalentQuote Sales Brochure v2.4.md`	Commercial Asset	Supporting	Sales brochure source.
`TalentQuote/Marketing-v1/TalentQuote Outreach Sequence Library v0.3.md`	Sales Operations	Supporting	Outbound messaging library.
`TalentQuote/Product-v1/TalentQuote_Product_Governance_Review_v0.1.md`	Governance Review	Historical	Review artifact converted into this governance document.
`TalentQuote/Product-v1/📘 TalentQuote™ — BRD v1.3 (MVP).md`	Historical Product Requirements	Historical	Earlier MVP requirements reference; superseded for execution.
Older User Stories v2.x files	Historical Product Definition	Deprecated	Superseded by User Stories v3.0.
Older UX-UI Flow v2.x files	Historical Product Definition	Deprecated	Superseded by UX-UI Flow & Screen Guide v3.0.

9. Governance Decisions

These are official governance decisions, not recommendations.

PDG-001

Strategic Pyramid v1.2.6 governs strategic direction.

PDG-002

Master Summary v3.3.1 governs current business context and product reality.

PDG-003

Canon v1.1.1 governs approved product narrative, terminology, and commercial language.

PDG-004

Revenue Engine Playbook v1.0 governs revenue motion, funnel logic, activation logic, and commercial operating principles.

PDG-005

Product Governance v1.0 governs product documentation hierarchy, authority, lifecycle, change management, and source-of-truth interpretation.

PDG-006

User Stories v3.0 govern product scope.

PDG-007

Acceptance Criteria v2.3 govern acceptance requirements and testable behavior.

PDG-008

UX-UI Flow & Screen Guide v3.0 governs user experience behavior and interaction flow.

PDG-009

Architecture Guide v3.0 governs technical architecture.

PDG-010

Product MVP Delivery Tracker v0.3/current governs execution state, owner/status/phase decisions, QA evidence needs, and Jira readiness.

PDG-011

Jira mirrors execution and does not define product scope.

PDG-012

BRD v1.3 is a Historical Reference and does not govern product execution.

PDG-013

Historical documents cannot override active or governing documents.

PDG-014

Done cannot mean accepted until QA evidence is attached and validated against Acceptance Criteria.

PDG-015

Commercial assets may explain and sell approved product behavior, but they cannot redefine product behavior.

PDG-016

AI systems must read this governance hierarchy before modifying product documents, execution trackers, Jira plans, or commercial-product assets.

10. Governance Compliance Rules

No execution document may redefine product scope.
No UX document may redefine positioning.
No architecture document may redefine business requirements.
No marketing asset may redefine product behavior.
No Jira ticket may become the source of truth for product scope.
No historical document may override active governance documents.
No tracker row may create new scope without a source change in User Stories or another approved product definition source.
No acceptance claim may rely on Jira status alone.
No commercial claim may contradict Canon, Revenue Engine, User Stories, UX, or Acceptance Criteria.
No future AI system may treat BRD v1.3 as the current product execution authority.
No lower-level document may contradict Strategic Pyramid, Master Summary, Canon, or Product Governance.
No document may be promoted to governing status without category, ownership, dependencies, and lifecycle status.

11. BRD Classification

Final status:

Historical Reference.

Governance rationale:

BRD v1.3 reflects an earlier MVP requirements model.
It predates the current delivery tracker and current product execution grooming.
It contains useful historical requirements, legal/payment logic, non-functional requirements, risk thinking, and data-model context.
It does not capture current tracker decisions, Jira-readiness needs, malformed backlog rows, owner gaps, QA evidence gaps, or current MVP/Phase decisions.
It must not be deleted or moved unless Hugo explicitly requests a file operation.
It must not be used as the governing execution source.

Official label:

Historical Reference - earlier MVP requirements source; superseded for execution by User Stories v3.0, Acceptance Criteria v2.3, UX-UI Flow v3.0, Architecture Guide v3.0, and Product MVP Delivery Tracker.

12. MVP Delivery Tracker Relationship

The Product MVP Delivery Tracker governs execution.

It does not redefine scope.

Relationship model:

User Stories v3.0
↓
Acceptance Criteria v2.3
↓
UX-UI Flow & Screen Guide v3.0
↓
Architecture Guide v3.0
↓
Product MVP Delivery Tracker
↓
Jira
↓
QA Evidence

User Stories

User Stories define what must be built.

The tracker maps those stories into execution state, phase labels, owner fields, product decisions, and Jira readiness.

Acceptance Criteria

Acceptance Criteria define what must be true for a story to be accepted.

The tracker records QA status and evidence needs, but it does not replace acceptance criteria.

Jira

Jira mirrors tracker-backed execution work.

Jira tickets must map to source stories, acceptance criteria, tracker decisions, or approved product decisions.

Jira cannot introduce new scope by itself.

QA

QA validates against Acceptance Criteria and records evidence through the execution process.

Done in Jira or the tracker is not equivalent to accepted unless QA evidence exists.

13. Jira Governance

Jira is an execution tool.

Jira is not the product source of truth.

Jira rules:

Every Jira ticket must map to a source story, acceptance criterion, tracker item, or approved product decision.
Jira ticket wording must not redefine product scope.
Jira status must be reflected back into the Product MVP Delivery Tracker.
Jira may expose delivery issues, but product decisions must be recorded in the appropriate product source layer.
Jira cannot override User Stories, Acceptance Criteria, UX Guide, Architecture Guide, Product Governance, or Strategic Governance.

14. Notes For AI Systems

AI systems must interpret TalentQuote product documents through the hierarchy in this document.

Operating rules:

Always read Product Governance before modifying product documents.
Always read the Documentation Index and Context Pack before broad TalentQuote documentation work.
Scope changes originate from User Stories or the current approved product scope source.
Acceptance changes originate from Acceptance Criteria.
UX behavior changes originate from the UX Guide.
Architecture changes originate from Architecture Guide or supporting architecture documents.
Execution updates belong in the Product MVP Delivery Tracker.
Jira must be treated as an execution mirror.
Historical documents must not be treated as active sources.
BRD v1.3 may explain historical intent, but it does not govern current execution.
Do not create new product strategy unless explicitly requested by Hugo.
Do not create new positioning unless explicitly requested by Hugo.

15. Governance Status

Status:

Approved.

Rationale:

The source hierarchy is now explicit.
The BRD classification is formalized.
Jira’s role is defined.
The Product MVP Delivery Tracker’s role is defined.
Product scope, acceptance, UX, architecture, execution, QA, and commercial messaging each have assigned source layers.
Governance decisions are stated as rules rather than recommendations.
Future AI systems have operating instructions for interpreting and modifying TalentQuote product documents.

16. Historical Context Appendix

TalentQuote_Product_Governance_Review_v0.1.md established the product governance transition from a BRD-led model to a governed source-of-truth model.

This v1.0 document makes that transition official.

Historical interpretation:

The BRD explains where the MVP came from.
User Stories define what the product includes.
Acceptance Criteria define how product behavior is accepted.
UX Guide defines how the product should feel and flow.
Architecture Guide defines how the product works internally.
Product MVP Delivery Tracker defines where execution is going next.
Jira mirrors execution.

17. Comparison Report

This document upgrades TalentQuote_Product_Governance_Review_v0.1.md into TalentQuote_Product_Governance_v1.0.md.

v0.1 to v1.0 changes:

Converted review language into approved governance language.
Added official document purpose, authority, and scope.
Added Product Documentation Hierarchy.
Added Source Of Truth Matrix.
Added Product Authority Matrix.
Added Product Change Management.
Added Product Lifecycle Model.
Added Active Document Registry.
Added formal Governance Decisions.
Added Governance Compliance Rules.
Added BRD Classification.
Added MVP Delivery Tracker relationship.
Added Jira Governance.
Added Notes For AI Systems.
Added Governance Status.
Preserved v0.1 as a historical review artifact.
Did not modify approved product strategy, positioning, or product scope.

18. Change Log

Version	Date	Status	Change
1.0	2026-07-09	Approved	Created official Product Governance Source of Truth from Product Governance Review v0.1 and current product documentation stack.

Quartz 5

Explorer

TalentQuote-Product-Governance-v1.0